New Publication: Women of Yucatan

I am excited to share the good news after years of working on this project that resulted in a book.  Even though people are thanked in the acknowledgements, I want to thank everyone who supported me in one way or another to make this possible.  You know who you are and I am grateful.  Thank you. 

Book by Jann Freed and George Ann Huck published

PELLA — Eight years in the making and Women of the Yucatan: Thirty Who Dared to Change Their World is now available. The book, which profiles 30 women who have dared to challenge gender inequalities set against them at birth in their native Mexico, is authored by Jann Freed, professor of business management and the Mark and Kay De Cook Endowed Chair in Leadership and Character Development at Central College, and George Ann Huck, professor emerita of Spanish.

The idea for the book emerged during the semester Freed taught on Central’s Yucatan program. The two paired up to interview 30 women in a patriarchal society who have lived in an environment where rape can often be forgotten as a crime if the victim agrees to marry her aggressor and where negative pregnancy tests are a sometimes a prerequisite for employment in the maquiladora factories. The profiles, supplemented by photographs, describe the women’s accomplishments and motivations as well as the obstacles they have confronted.

The book was published by McFarland in December and is available at mcfarlandpub.com and amazon.com.

A bilingual photography exhibit has been displayed in more than 25 locations around the state of Iowa since 2000 and will be on display at Iowa State University in Ames in February. An exhibit was held in Merida, Yucatan, with most of the profiled women present in 2004.

This project was supported by grants from Central College, Humanities Iowa, the Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Sister States Program.

Freed is in her 28th year at Central College and has authored numerous articles and co-authored several books. She received the Virgil S. Lagomarcino Laureate Award from Iowa State University in October 2008. Freed is certified as an Academic Quality Improvement Program Systems Portfolio reviewer and a as a Sage-ing Leader through the Sage-ing Guild. She also is a commissioner for the State Library of Iowa.

Huck spent more than 35 years directing Central’s study abroad program in Merida and teaching culture and literature in the Yucatan. She lives in Merida and remains involved in the struggle of Yucatecan women.